On The Mat: How You Can Benefit From Freestyle Westling Training

Do you like the thrill of one-on-one competition? Testing your raw physical skills against an opponent? Pushing the limits of your body and mind, working as one to overcome a challenge? If you answered in the affirmative to any of these questions, freestyle wrestling may be up your alley.

Although you may not be familiar with the sport of freestyle wrestling, it has existed in its current modern form since the 19th century and most closely resembles the grueling physical competition practiced by the ancient Greeks and Romans. In recent years, freestyle wrestling has enjoyed a renaissance due to the growing popularity of Mixed Martial Arts, brought to the mainstream by the Ultimate Fighting Championship events that draw millions of viewers from around the globe. MMA, as the sport is known to its dedicated followers, is a fighting discipline that combines techniques from a variety of martial arts and other combat styles from all over the world, including Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, and boxing. Wrestling is a key component in the arsenal of any successful MMA competitor as it is vital in the transition from stand-up fighting to ground grappling.

Now, you may not be an MMA hopeful or training for the next Olympic Games, but you can benefit in many ways from pursuing an interest in freestyle wrestling. Some gyms, such as http://londonfightfactory.com/, offer a free class to potential students to try it out and see if wrestling is for you. There are a variety of health-related benefits to freestyle wrestling training, so let’s take a look at a few that might interest you.

Wrestling training offers a complete full-body workout. In the midst of struggling for position and executing takedowns, all of your body’s major muscle groups are being exercised. The constant pulling and pushing motions inherent to the sport work your upper body, while your lower body receives a strenuous workout through the squatting positions used by most wrestlers. Core strength, a major component of being a successful freestyle wrestler, is necessary for the quick, explosive movements needed to take down your opponent and aids you in fending off your opponent’s attacks. Wrestling bouts are six minutes of unbridled physical exertion and action. As a result, wrestling provides some of the most intensive cardiovascular conditioning of any discipline in the world. Over the course of training and competition, your heart must pump blood to all of your muscles and organs at a fast rate, thereby increasing lung capacity and building your body into peak physical condition.

Pursuing freestyle wrestling training also includes a strict diet and nutritional regimen. Since wrestling is divided into separate weight classes, proper nutrition is essential to maintaining your weight, as well as recovering from the grueling training, workouts, and competition you are putting your body through. To be a successful wrestler, you must eat healthy meals and drink plenty of water every day to stay hydrated. Your body may burn up to 400 calories during a single six-minute wrestling bout, and wrestlers will compete at least twice a day in tournament action. When you factor in an hour-and-a-half to two hours for training and practice, a wrestler could burn more than 1000 calories in a day!

In addition to building your physical prowess, freestyle wrestling training also improves your mental toughness and quick thinking skills. It has been said that wrestling is the game of human chess, as you must be thinking two or three moves ahead of your opponent while in the heat of battle. In order to emerge victorious, technique and strategy are just as important as strength and conditioning. Mental toughness is essential when dealing with adversity, either during or after a match. No wrestler can reasonably expect to remain undefeated, and if you are serious about the sport, you must accept losing as inevitable at some point. In many ways, freestyle wrestling and the training involved teach valuable life lessons, so what are you waiting for? Hit the gym and get on the mat!